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Communication Design Alumni Chat – Robin Lithgow

Communication Design Alumni Chat – Robin Lithgow

What position do you now hold as a communication designer and what responsibilities does the position include?
I am currently working as a freelance designer for an advertising agency. I was hired through Creative Circle for a specific rebranding project for one of their clients. I am mainly working on creating the style guide that will go with this company’s proposed new logo. When not working on the rebranding project, I help with various designs for the client’s current brand. I’ve made a couple of brochures and some simple little ads for the client’s products.

What industry do you focus on, and what problems do you solve for your clients?
The company I am working for is a b2b ad agency, but their client that I am working with is in the building materials industry. I mostly work with figuring out how to lay things out. For the rebranding project, I’ve had to come up with layouts for the brand guide as well as creating designs for promotional items that will be included in the brand guide. During my time on this project, I am definitely utilizing skills I learned in my Logos and Corporate Identity class!

How did your Communication Design degree from Harrington prepare you for your career?
I use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and especially InDesign on a daily basis. All of these programs I wouldn’t know how to use, at least not well enough, without my education from Harrington. There have been specific projects that I did in school that have specifically trained me for the work I am doing at this company; specifically creating style guides.

What class(es) at Harrington do you feel influenced you the most as a communication designer?
If I can remember the names correctly… definitely Logos and Corporate Identity, Corporate Graphics, Packaging II (Shout out to Brad for teaching that class, with just Melissa Filipiak and I enrolled, learned a lot!), and every single senior level class. But honestly, every single class has influenced me greatly!

What is one of your fondest memories of your Harrington experience?
Being able to have a small class was always great for me. It allowed me to get the attention I needed as a student and to be able to have a good relationship with my peers, teachers included!

What is the most challenging aspect of being a communication designer?
It can be stressful with meeting deadlines and demands. Sometimes directions aren’t communicated clearly and it’s a little bit of a guessing game, or there are times when you are trying to please your creative director with something you don’t like. That’s when you just go to thisadvertisinglife.tumblr.com and have a good laugh and realize you’re not the first person to be stressing out over the situation your facing.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a communication designer?
Just being able to create. It’s really rewarding to help in the process of bringing an idea to life. And especially when you see the finished product.

What piece(s) of advice would you give someone who wants to become a communication designer?
You get what you put in. Work hard! I did. And sometimes when I think back, I wish I worked even harder. I’m sure I wouldn’t like to hear that back when I was in school, though! I’ve come to realize that I had a lot of freedom in school when it came to exploring design concepts. The constraints were little, so make sure you explore as many different ideas that you can come up with!

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